4 stars
You’d be forgiven for assuming that a manifesto would be delivered by an insane person. In this case, though, Anna Piper Scott is seemingly the only sane voice in an unhinged world.
Water Off A Cuck’s Back starts by teaching you exactly what a 'cuck' is and why it’s a bizarre insult, before launching into the manifesto itself. It is, like most, a list of exactly what is wrong with the world. It's also pointed and biting and absolutely hilarious.
Image courtesy of Anna Piper Scott and Jamie Breen
Despite living through and in it, we’ve all become desensitised to exactly how bat-shit crazy the world has become. Over the course of her speech, delivered from behind a surprisingly official lectern, Anna Piper Scott paints a picture of a system that is invariably broken.
Don’t be discouraged by the political lens through which she outlines the failings of a post-Trump world. It’s highly accessible, and as long as you too agree that Nazis really are the bad guys, you’ll be coming at this from a shared angle.
It’s not just politics, though. Celebrity predators, sandwich artists, pet owners, people of all ages, and proponents of the Oxford comma all feature in her eponymous manifesto. This all comes together in what is the greatest TED Talk that has never been delivered.
She’s been out of comedy for a while - “going through a couple of changes”, as she put it - but this doesn’t show from the trademark acerbic delivery and social commentary that Anna Piper Scott wields with great effect. She’ll always be the queen of snark, but it’s matched with a shrewd political insight that will leave you laughing with despair and crying tears of beautiful, bemused resignation.
Tickets available from the FRINGE WORLD website.
GLEN SEABROOK-BENSON